BIO

Tony Burke is the Member for Watson, Minister for Home Affairs, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Minister for Cyber Security, Minister for the Arts and Leader of the House of Representatives.

Tony has been a member of the Labor frontbench both in Government and in Opposition since entering Federal Parliament in 2004.

When Tony took over the immigration portfolio in 2013, unauthorised boat arrivals were at an all-time high. The policy changes he oversaw delivered a 90 per cent reduction in the number of people putting their lives at risk on boats. He also ensured that all unaccompanied minors in immigration detention were released.

As Minister for the Arts Tony launched Revive in January 2023 – Australia’s first National Cultural Policy in a decade – reversing ten years of cuts to the arts, properly funding Australia’s cultural institutions and establishing Creative Australia.

Previously as Employment and Workplace Relations Minister, Tony introduced 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave, passed the Secure Jobs, Better Pay laws to improve Australia’s bargaining system and passed the Closing Loopholes laws to improve wages, conditions and safety for workers.

Previously as Environment Minister in the Gillard Government, Tony worked to resolve 100 years of conflict in the Murray-Darling Basin, placed Tasmania’s forests on the World Heritage list and made the second-largest conservation decision in the history of the planet by protecting our oceans.

As Manager of Opposition Business and now as Leader of the House, Tony has been running Labor’s parliamentary tactics in the House of Representatives for 12 years.